Rotary steam engine



July 7, 1931- c. w. PHILLIPS 1,813,316

' ROTARY s'rmm ENGINE Filed April 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l v 6%.Pilag ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1931 CLAIR w. PHILLIPS, or LYNCH, KENTUCKY '1ROTARY. STEAM. n ivemn Application filed April s, 1928. Serial No.267,928.

This invention relates to a rotary'engine of the reversible type andwhich is designed to be used with steam, the general object of theinvention being to provide "a 'circularcasing having an outlet anda'pair of inlet ports, with a blade carrying rotor eccentrically arrangedin the casing, projecting'the blades as the rotor moves out of contactwith a part of the casing and valve means for controlling the inletports sothat the rotor can be made to rotate in either direction. j 1 pAnother object of the invention is to provide pump means for lubricatingthe bear- 16 ings of the rotor. p Q

This invention also consists in certain other features of constructionand in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafter fully described, illuszotrated in the accompanying drawingsand specifically pointed out in the appended claim. I

In describing my invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying draw- I ings wherein like characters denote like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 11s a sectional view through the improved engine. Figure 2-is a sectionon line 2-2 of Figure 1. i Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure1.

Figure 4 is a view of one of the blades of the rotor.

Figure 5 is asectional view showing a modified form of blade.

i Figure 6 is a sectional view of the lubricating pump. I

I Figure 7 is a detail sectional view of a part of the outlet for saidpump.

Figure 8 is a view of the valve member.

In these drawings, A indicates a .circular casingwhich is formed of thetwo side plates :1 and the rim 2, each side plate having an annularprojection 3'on its inner face adjacent the periphery of the plate, theside of the projection being beveled and its outer end being flatto-form a seat for the rim 2 which is bolted to the side plates. The rimwith means for is formed with an outlet 4 and apair of in let ports 5,these inlet ports passing through a flattened part of the casing towhich is attached a valve housing 6 having its lower part6 bolted toitsupper part. This housing is formed with the passages 7 which formcontinuations of the ports 5 and these pas} sages lead to the inlet 8 atthe outer or lower;

end of the housing. A pair of slide valves 9 controls the passages 7,these valves being connected together by a rod 10 'sothat they will'movein unison and the ports 11 in these valvesare s0 arranged that when oneport is registering with one of the passages 7, the

other port is moved out of register with the opposite passage so as toclosethe same. Aflever 12 is pivoted in a part of the housing. and isconnected with the rod 10 and a yoke member 13 is slidablyarranged onthe housing and carries apin 14 at its central part which passes througha slot inthe lever so that by moving the yoke member v through'means ofits handle*15, the lever will" be rocked in one direction or the otherto shift the valves to open either passage 7 and close the otherpassage.

A rotor 16 is eccentrically arranged in the casing, with a portionthereof contacting with the bottom of the casing so that the rotor andcasing'form a crescent-shaped cham-' her, the ends of which are incommunication with the ports 5.- The trunnions 17 of'the rotor'arejournaled in the bearing bosses 18 formed on the side plates l, thesebosses being eccentrically arranged, as shown. A plurality of blades 19are movably arranged inthe radial slots 20 formed i'n'the rotor and aring'21 is eccentricallyarranged on the innerwall of each end plate,these rings engaging the ends of the inner edges of the blades andacting to keep the outer edges of the blades against the rim of thecasing, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The outer ends of the blades havetheir ends beveled to engage the beveled faces of the projections 3- andeach blade is formed with a tip 22 preferably of bronze which issuitably connected with the blade. Figure 4 shows one way of attachingthe tip to a blade, but Figure 5 shows the preferredform. This figureshows a strip 23, preferably of bronze, fastened to the end of the bladeby the screws 24.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when steam or other expansiblefluid is introduced into the casing through an inlet 5, it will enterthe pockets formed by the blades, the rotor and the casing and thusexert pressure against the blades to cause the rotor to rotate and thedirection of this rotary movement will be away fromthe inlet port whichis open. For instance, in Figure 1, the rotor will revolve in ananti-clockwise direction as the right hand inlet passage is open, but ifthis passage is closed and the left hand passage opened by the valve,the rotor would revolve in the opposite direction. As the blades movetoward the bottom of the casing, they will be forced inwardly by the rimof the casing, the eccentrically arranged rings 21 permitting thismovement and then as the blades move upwardly wit-h the rotor, they areforced outwardly andthus kept in contact with the rim of the casing bysaid rings 21, as cl arly shown in Figure 1.

I- also provide pumps for lubricating the; bearings, each pumpcomprising a casing 25 connected with each boss 18 and having a cylinder26 therein in which is arranged a piston 27 which has its upper endpivoted to an eccentric strap 28 engaging an eccentric groove in thetrunnion 17 so that as the trunnion rotates, the eccentric strap willreciprocate the piston 27 to cause it to draw oil from the casing intothe cylinder throughthe holes 29 on its upward stroke and to force saidoil from the cylinder on its clownward stroke through the passage 30into'the bearing. A check valve 31 is arranged in said passage 30.

This motor can be arranged at any angle and will start with a full loadand it can be caused to operate in either direction by moving the valvesthrough the yoke 13.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages andnovel features of my invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that I may make changes in the construction andin the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided thatsuch changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

Vhat I claim is An engine of the class described, comprising a circularcasing, a rotor eccentrically arranged therein and, supported forrotation, radially arranged blades slidably carried by the rotor, theperiphery of the rotor and the circumferential wall of the casingdefining a crescent shaped chamber, the casing having an outlet portlocated between the ends of said chamber, a" valve casing mounted uponthe under side of the casing and having inlet passages communicatingwith the ends of said chamber, whereby a motive fluid may enter thechamber at either end thereof to vary the direction of rotation of therotor, the valve casing comprising separable connected sections andformed in the meeting faces of the two sections with matching horizontalrecesses providingvalve chambers, flat valve plates slidably mounted insaid chambers and each provided near its outer end with an opening forregistration with the respective one of the intake passages of the valvecasing, a rod extending between and connecting the relatively adjacentends of said plates, rack arms pivotally mountedat their lower endswithin the valve casingand having longitudinal slots therein,belowtheir' upper ends, pins extending; from oppos'itesides of thesaidrodand engaging in the slots,- whereby, when the;arm is rocked about itspivot, shifting. adjustment of the valves will be effected toopen 011001the inlet passages and close the other inlet passage, a frame disposedexterior-1y of the valve casingnandincluding side'members and connectingend m'E]11b6I'S, l1'1GZLIlS connecting the upper ends ofthe said; armspivotally with the side members of said frame, and a handle member uponone end of the frame. 7

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature;

CLAIR W. PHILLIPS:

